25 Things

I am working on a list of 100 things of 2009 (something I do around each new year) but it's not done. So this is a shorter version of facts about me!

In no particular order:

1) I have a horrible memory. I can never remember conversations, rarely can remember events, and hardly remember the events of the day. I'm awful with names, but decent with faces. People are constantly reminding me of things I should probably know. This makes being a therapist incredibly challenging. It also makes me curious how easily writing these 25 things will be for me.

2) Despite my early onset retention issues mentioned in #1, I'm really good at remembering song lyrics. Music of all sorts sticks in my head, especially musicals. The first musical I could recite word-for-word was Phantom of the Opera and the first time I went to see the show I identified the places where they had changed the lyrics from the original soundtrack. I love to sing, but I was not musically blessed, so I have to just mouth the words if people are around who value their hearing.

3) I'm a Taurus born in the year of the Dog (April 24th, 1982). This means I'm stubborn and loyal. I think "loyal" is just a positive reframe of "stubborn" because both mean you don't change easily. Once I form an opinion, it takes a lot for me to change my mind. I used to be even more inflexible and critical...which scares me.

4) My first love is animals. I watch Discovery Channel and Animal Planet with a vengeance. My early career choices included farmer (for fauna, not agriculture), a zoo keeper, a marine biologist, ethologist (a fancy word for behaviorist), which eventually led me to psychology. In my lifetime I've had six dogs, nine cats, three birds, countless fish, anoles, and hermit crabs. I want a dog. Desperately.

5) As a child I could tell you anything you wanted to know about dinosaurs -- imagine the little boy from Jurassic Park. I have lost everything I once knew about them (see #1). I had quite a sizeable dinosaur collection.

6) My dinosaurs used to have epic battles with my sisters My Little Ponies. Eventually, they became my My Little Ponies. Eventually, I think I owned more of those ponies than my sister. I remember the last My Little Pony I ever bought...I was too old to be buying ponies. It was a FlutterPony named Rosebud. I still love the Movie (it's a musical -- see #2).

7) I was never a particularly sporty youth: I preferred video games. Despite my preference, I played soccer for eight years, I swam on a swim team for eight summers, I played basketball for four years, a lifeguard, and I became a brown belt in Tae Kwon Do in High School. As an adult I have played on an outdoor soccer league, an indoor soccer league, and an adult kickball league. I've secretly always wanted to play rugby, but I think I am a little too fragile.

8) I am a certified Master SCUBA Diver. That means I can go out on dives without an instructor. I'm not sure I ever would do this. I'm also a certified Rescue Diver. This means I can assist in an underwater emergency. I'm not sure I remember how to do this. I've been diving in beautiful places like The Great Barrier Reef in Australia, Looe Key in the Florida Keys, and St. John. My first open water dive was in a cold, dark, barely visible rock quarry in Virginia.

9) As a rule, I don't like seafood. The one exception is wild salmon. This is unusual, because I generally think of myself as pretty adventurous when it comes to food, but if it comes from the ocean, I'm not a fan. Especially mussels. Bleh.

10) I want to learn to surf, but I've watched too much Shark Week (see #4) to want to surf in California. I have a secret fear of Jaws, because Jaws was the first scary movie I ever saw. I'm not scared of all sharks, mind you, in fact, I would love to go in a shark cage in South Africa to see Great Whites in person. My fear is isolated to Jaws. And the mother of Jaws. I know it's not real, but it's still scary!

11) I love to travel, although I don't particularly like to fly. I love roadtrips. I've been to 40 of the United States, Mexico, New Zealand, Australia, England, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, the Cayman Island, Canada, France, Spain, Italy, Greece, Turkey, and Costa Rica. There are so many places I'd like to go, including: South Africa, India, China, Egypt, Fiji, Hawaii, the Galapagos, Chile, Brazil, Argentina, Peru, Alaska, Madagascar, Botswana, etc. etc.

12) Especially when traveling, but always, I sleep to a sound machine. I always sleep with the thunderstorm setting on for an hour. Some people find it very irritating (like my sister when we have to share a hotel room), but I think it is so soothing. It helps me turn off my mind. Although, I will admit, when a real thunderstorm comes, I tend to feel sleepy.

13) I recently bought a body pillow who I named Mr. Wuggums. I like to name things. I've always wanted a body pillow. I tend to cocoon myself in my sleep in blankets, until I get too hot, then I snuggle with my former cocoon. Now, I have Mr. Wuggums to cuddle with when I get too hot.

14) I am very temperature sensitive. I get hot very easily. I can't touch people or blankets for too long without getting hot. And sweaty. It's not my favorite thing about myself. Because I love cuddling and hold hands and hugs and touch and this trait counterbalances my wishes.

15) Speaking of getting too hot, my first job ever was as a historic interpreter at Colonial Williamsburg. I was a fifer in the Fife & Drum Corps. This meant twice a week I had to wear full costume and march and play music, in the heat of the humid Virginia summer. The job was problematic because I was not blessed with the gift of song (see #1 and #2) and don't have a particularly military mindset naturally (see #6 or ever meet me). I wanted to quit for ages, but the people pleaser in me stayed for two full years. It was a big day when I finally told them to eat it (really I just said I was done and good luck).

16) Although I hated Fifing and marching and being yelled at, I loved the costumes, and more importantly, I love hosting costume-required theme parties. I love hosting all kinds of parties, but theme parties are by far my favorite. I love to coordinate the food, drinks, decoration, and, of course, my costume. Some that I've hosted include: a colorful toga party, a pirate party (before everyone was doing it), a cruise ship party, a cowboys and indians (from India) party, etc.

17) Sometimes I think I should do community theater or acting of some sort. I did a number of plays and musicals in high school and loved the friendships forged, performing, rehearsals, everything. I miss some of those things.

18) I'm currently applying for my postdoctoral position while currently on my predoctoral internship. I defended my dissertation in December 09 and will graduate in June 2010!

19) I feel very fortunate. I also feel hardworking, but lots of things have seemed to work out in my life and career. I've always had a five year plan, and currently, I barely have a five week plan. Even though I don't know where things are going, I'm curious/happy/excited/scared/hopeful to find out what the next chapter looks like.

20) I love zombie movies. And video games. This really became realized in college when every Thursday my friend Jesse and I would have "Drew Night" where we would order pizza, drink SKYY, watch Survivor, and then play video games until we were silly. The video game we played the most was Resident Evil III (*stars*). Movies I own include Night of the Living Dead, Day of the Dead, Dawn of the Dead (including remakes), 28 Days Later, Slither, Shawn of the Dead, Resident Evil, Ghosts of Mars. I describe "zombie" in the loosest sense.

21) Maybe because of #20, I like to lock doors when I go into rooms, usually without thinking. I do it second nature in my office and then I always feel weird unlocking the door when someone knocks. I also used to spend time planning what I would do if zombies attacked...*NOW*. (In case you're curious, my office has big forward facing windows, which is no place to stage a defense, I would have to get to the roof, or the bathroom, or the meeting room in the back with a secret door and big furniture).

22) I tend to perseverate with things I like to the point of exhaustion. For example, I will listen to the same song over and over and over again until I don't want to hear it anymore. (The current song is Hayley Westenra's cover of Kate Bush's 'Wuthering Heights'). Since then I have watched one feature film and one BBC miniseries of Wuthering Heights. I'm currently listening. I also do this with other things...like my favorite restaurant is Flavor of India and I could go there 5 days a week and order the chicken tikka masala every time. There have been weeks where I have gone three days in a row.

23) I love car rides but I don't really like to drive. But I dislike other peoples driving typically more, so I end up driving. I once drove from Maryland to Kansas without a break, but I got a lil delirious toward the end. I have also had roadtrips from Virginia to Florida, Maryland to New York City, New Jersey to Maryland (after the big blackout of 2003 canceled my flight from NYC), Santa Barbara to San Diego, San Francisco to Santa Barbara many times, and recently from Baltimore to Pittsburgh in a snow storm!

24) Speaking of snow, I don't like snow. And anything cold. I used to tell people I was allergic to ice when ordering water and you'd be amazed how many people will believe you. As per snow, I like it when it is falling. I like when it is out of my window and I'm by a cozy fire with nowhere to go. I like it when I am skiing on it. After that, I want it to all melt away. I don't like snowy roads, I don't like when it is that cold (maybe see #13), and I hate when snow stops being fluffy and white. I recoil from the freezer section and hate to touch ice barehanded.

25) Because my graduation and my sister's wedding are both in 2010 and each of these events are likely to be very photograph heavy events, I am wanting to make this a year to get into the best shape of my life. I have been walking more of late, trying to eat healthier, and am signing up for a gym membership tonight! Wish me luck on getting less jiggly!